


The First Taste

by bisky



Category: X-Men (Comicverse), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Divergent, F/F, Love Confession
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-12 23:06:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13557504
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bisky/pseuds/bisky
Summary: Set after Phoenix Resurrection but ignoring the events of X-men Red.Jean realizes that her and Emma Frost's fates are connected more than ever before after her resurrection.





	The First Taste

Jean Grey had lived multiple lives. Some of them were filled with love and happiness ;  others were not as lucky. Through her lives and deaths came a certain understanding that people who had not died and come back over and over again would never be able to know. She loved Scott Summers. She would always love him. When she died, she even used her last ounce of power to push him to be happy with another woman. Now that she was back and he was gone, she could see things more clearly than ever.  Crystalline and blinding were the strings connecting her and Emma Frost now. These fishing lines of fate came with the knowledge that years ago when she had hated Emma, and believed Emma to have hated her in return, the circumstances were not that simple. 

The X-men who had found her, her friends, some of whom only alternate versions of her had known, filled her in on what had happened while she was gone. She heard the way they talked about Emma:  how she had been a force of good in the world without losing her essence, how she and Scott had made each other better, how she had championed mutant rights and become a leader of the X-men in her own right, the regret in their voices when they came to the point they had to disclose her backslide into her old ways. Emma was not a secluded person, she was fiercely independent but needed someone as her moral anchor. Scott had been just that for so long, but after his death, of course she had gone back on all the good she had achieved. She was lost and alone. She needed someone to show her the way back, and Jean knew in this moment, in this life, in this time, it was her turn to be Emma’s anchor. 

That led her to this empty beach in northern California. Jean stood far away and out of view, having cloaked her telepathy. Under a palm tree, Emma sat on a long white beach chair, topless and unmoving. There was no predicting how Emma would react. For years, Emma had convinced herself that Jean had been the source of all her problems. It was actually sort of ironic really.  Emma was one of, if not the, most powerful telepaths in the world, yet she had so little awareness of her own mind. It would certainly be hard to get her past the mental block of hating Jean that she had ruminated on for so long. 

Jean let down her block slightly, and immediately Emma’s body filled with tension. For a moment they both sat, unmoving and silent. It had been so long since either of them had registered each other’s unique psychic trace. Emma was the first to speak. “I had heard rumblings of your return, but I was hoping for it to be like a fear-mongering chain email - false and utterly ridiculous to the point of hilarity.” 

“Hello, Emma.” Jean stepped out of the shade of the flora and into Emma’s line of view. “I’m sorry to disappoint, but I came here for a reason.”

“Oh I’m sure you did. Gloating is unbecoming of you, Miss Grey.”

“Call me Jean.” This caught Emma off guard, and her expression faltered for just a millisecond. Smiling to herself, Jean took a step forward and examined Emma. Her bare skin was like strawberry milk, flushed light pink from the heat. Light blonde hair was pulled into a high ponytail, but pieces had fallen out and clung to her skin like blades of grass. She wasn’t wearing makeup, and there were slight hints of purple under her eyes. Jean concluded that Emma had never looked more beautiful than she did right now. 

All traces of Emma’s defensiveness had faded. She looked up at Jean and spoke so low it was almost a whisper. “Jean...” 

“I’m not here to haul you off to prison, or even to gloat.” Kneeling in the sand beside where Emma sat, Jean attempted to take her hand. Emma jerked away and gave Jean a ‘you must be insane’ look. Respecting Emma’s space, Jean retreated back onto her knees. “It might be easier for you to read my mind to understand exactly why I’m here.” 

Emma laughed bitterly at the suggestion, but soon realized that Jean wasn’t joking. “You really want me to read your mind more than I already am. What’s the angle here?” 

“No angle. I just figured it would better to convey some concepts I’ve realized recently that might be hard to put into words.” Emma’s eyes softened, and she sat up, flinging her legs over the side of the chair so she was face to face with Jean. She put her fingers to her temples and closed her eyes while subsequently reaching out her essence towards Jean’s mind. When Emma made contact with Jean’s essence they stood there and mingled as one. They didn’t speak. Didn’t even communicate in language. Images flew past, some of happy times, some sadder. Jean did her best to choose the ones that would convey what she knew. 

That Emma loved her, and had since they had become teammates. All the hatred for Jean had been a coping mechanism, and while she did love Scott, their affair was not originally because of affection. Emma had been like a child with her feelings for Jean; she was confused and interpreted that to be hate, when it had been love all along. Deep down Emma knew this and had been struggling to accept it. In return, Jean took in the images that Emma was transmitting back to her. That she had always felt inferior to Jean, but not for catty reasons. From the moment they met and first touched minds, Emma had sensed Jean’s heart. The beauty and generosity of it had overwhelmed her. Her driving factor in creating their feud was that she feared she wasn’t good enough for Jean, or even to pursue her. She perceived her heart as damaged, where Jean’s was whole. 

After who knows how long, they both opened their eyes. Jean looked at Emma as tears ran down her cheeks. “How long have you known?” 

“It doesn’t matter.” 

“I’m sorry, Jean. I did so many terrible things to you. All because I couldn’t control my own wretched feelings. A petulant child could have handled things better than I did.” Her eye welled up again, and she went to bury her face in her hands. Jean stopped her, and proceeded to position her hand where it was cradling Emma’s face. Gingerly, she ran her thumb across Emma’s cheek, rubbing the salty tears into her skin. 

“What I didn’t include in our psychic link, was that I’ve always loved you, too.” Emma’s eyes flickered brightly, and she began to cry even harder. “Oh darling, please don’t cry.” 

“I can’t help it! Seeing you alive makes me happier than I can say. Seeing you here, telling me that you’ve always loved me, too? It’s too much.” She put her hand on top of where Jean’s was on her face. “Darling is my phrase, though. You’ll have to find another one if we’re going to make this work.” 

Jean smiled warmly, feeling affection rise up in her chest. This warmth she had never felt with Scott, or even Logan, consumed her as she looked into Emma’s watery eyes. This was what love, not comfort, felt like. Standing up, she took Emma’s hand and pulled her to stand as well. “C’mon, I’m starting a new team, and I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be my second in command.” 

**Author's Note:**

> i'm working on a follow up to this. who knows if it'll get posted but it's in the works.


End file.
